Patricia M. Russell

DEERFIELD - Patricia Mary Russell, age 99, of Deerfield, passed away on Friday, September 5, 2025. She was born on May 22, 1926, in Streator, Ill., the daughter of Arthur and Vanita (McKoane) Trainor. Patricia was baptized at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Sunbury and in later years stopped by to say the Stations of the Cross every evening on her way home from school and work. She spent many childhood summers visiting her aunts in Chicago, Ill., and developed a lively desire for travel.

Patricia grew up during the Great Depression on the family farm in Blackstone, Ill. She attended Sunbury Elementary School and graduated from Streator High School. She followed the career path of her mother and graduated from Illinois State Normal University for Teachers. She graduated in 1946 with her lifelong friend, Neta (Callahan) Erdman.

Patricia taught at Ransom and Woodland Elementary Schools in Illinois. During one summer vacation, she traveled with her cousin, Frances Corrigan, to Yellowstone National Park where she survived a bear attack with the only injury being to her sweater. The following summer, Patricia asked her friend, Peggy Brennan, to accompany her on a road trip to Fairbanks, Alaska. They endured the rugged gravel roadways of the ALCAN Highway, experiencing many adventures along the way.

Patricia’s wanderlust led her to join the Department of Defense to teach overseas. Her first teaching assignment was on the Army base in Bremerhaven, Germany for four years. She then transferred to the Nouasseur Air Force Base in Casablanca, Morocco. Patricia would meet her future husband, Thomas Henry Russell of Bronx, N.Y., at the Officer’s Club on base, where he was an electrician. They were married six months later on April 19, 1958, and they honeymooned throughout France, Portugal and Spain, visiting the Marian Shrines of Lourdes and Fatima. Their first child, Marie, was born in 1959 in Casablanca while Patricia completed the academic year.

Patricia and Tom decided to return to the United States with Marie and settled in South Central Wisconsin on 12 acres of wild wooded land. They lived in a sturdy military tent during the harsh winter while Tom built their first home and worked at Truax Air Force Base in Madison, Wis., as an electrician. They would have six more children who enjoyed their lives in the rural area. Their dream was to own a farm, so while maintaining the property outside of Deerfield, they purchased a 141-acre farm in Cottage Grove in June 1973. They would raise various livestock and crops with most memories built in the tobacco fields. Patricia worked several jobs during this time as well as participating in the necessary tasks of the farm. The family were members of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Cottage Grove for 20 years. After a two-year transfer with his company to Louisville, Ky., Pat and Tom moved back to the “woods” in 1981.

Upon his retirement from West Towne Mall in 1991, the couple began visiting casinos throughout Wisconsin and Las Vegas. They enjoyed spending time with their seven children and nine grandchildren. Tom passed away from lung cancer on June 5, 1998, surrounded by Patricia and their children. Patricia will be greatly missed by all.

Patricia is survived by her children, Marie Russell, Tom (Donna) Russell, Therese (Andres) Cibotti, Fred Russell, Mary Russell, Anne (Steve) Walmer and Frank (Kristin) Russell; nine grandchildren, Latisha, Andy, Michael, Francesca, Katie (Dalton), Patrick, Cassie, Ryan (Hailley) and Jacob; and six great-grandchildren, Finley, Callan, Josie, Millie, Isla and Wesley; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her sisters, Anne and Toni; and brothers, Jack and Jim.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at QUEEN OF APOSTLES PARISH, ST. DENNIS CHURCH, 505 Dempsey Road, Madison, at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, with Father Michael Tarigopula presiding. Visitation will be held at the church starting with the Holy Rosary at 9:30 a.m., with visiting continuing until the time of the Mass on Wednesday. Patricia had been a member of St. Dennis Parish since 2018.
 

Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East
Funeral & Cremation Care
5203 Monona Drive
(608) 221-5420